Illuminated house number



June 17, 1924.

C. J. MANVILLE ILLUMINATED HOUSE NUMBER Filed Sent. 17. 1920 INVENTOR:

0 I ATTORNEY.

W1 TNESS:

Patented June 17, 1924.

UNlTED STATES CHARLES J. MANVILLE, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

ILLUMINATED HOUSE NUMBER.

Application filed Septembgr 17, 1920. Serial No. 410,915.

To all whom it may conccm:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES J. MANviLLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Illuminated House Number, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accon'ipanying drawings and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to means for bolding and illuminating house or building numbers, and has reference more particularly to incandescent lamp arrangement for providing light for illuminating the numbers.

An object of the invention is to illuminate house or building numbers to such an extent that they may be legible from a measurably distant sidewalk or street at night time.

Another object is to provide changeable .yet simple and inexpensive illuminated house numbers in order to eliminate the disturbing of the occupants of near-by houses when a stranger is looking for a certain house number after darkness of night occurs.

A further object is to provide house numbers that may readily be illuminated, thereby enabling people who may be searching for a house number to approximately locate the place being searched for which may not be illuminated, through the advantage of a nearby house having illuminated numbers.

A still further object of the invention is to cause the numbers on a house to stand out clearly at night when dark shadows are thrown on the house from various lights, even though the streets have street lights.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of the illuminated number provided in fulfillment of the above-mentioned and other objects, as preferably constructed,

a portion of the lamp housing being shown in section; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary section on the line II-II on Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse section on an enlarged scale on the line III-III on Fig. 1; Fig.4 is a fragmentary side view of a spring appearing as used in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an elevation of the illuminated number in a slightly modified form, a portion being in section.

Similar reference characters in the different figures of the drawing indicate like parts or features of constructior herein referred to.

In a practical embodiment of the invention a novel frame or casing is provided to hold a house or building number and a lamp sheet metal, an approximately hollow cylindrical lamp house shell 2, the Wall of which extends upwardly and forwardly from the base plate and downwardly and towards but not to the base plate, and from the end of which extends a front frame opposite to and parallel with the base plate, the front frame comprising a horizontal upper'member 3 adjacent to the shell, two vertical side members 4 and 5 extending from the upper member, and a horizontal lower member 6 connected 'ith the side members. Thus aclear opening 7 is provided through which light ma pass from the interior of the housing shel to the space between the back plate and the front frame. The base or back plate has a narrow bottom plate 8 thereon, preferably integral therewith and the bottom plate preferably has a narrow front clip plate 9 thereon arranged opposite to the base plate.

The device constituting the house or building number may be variously made and of any suitable material to permit light to pass through the front plate which is secured on the front frame and bears the number. Preferably a thin sheet 10 of suitable transparent or semi-ti-ansparent material, such as celluloid, is made separately and placed on the front of the front frame, and the number plate is composed of a suitable number of number plate sections 11, 12, 13 arranged on the front of the sheet, the sections having suitable numerals, as 14, 15, 16 respectively cut from the material to permit light to pass through the sections; but obviously the numerals may be otherwise rendered transparent or semi-transparent. The holder has an end wall constituting a closure cap 17 having clip flanges 18 and 19 that embrace the number plate and the base plate respectively and a flange 20 on its lower end that embraces the bottom portion 8; and the end wall has also an approximately circular cap portion 21 which has a cylindrical [langc 22 that embraces the cylindrical shell 2. The opposite end of the holder is similarly provided with an end wall or closure plate 23 having flanges 21 and 25 embracing the number plate and the base plate respectively, a bottom flange 20, and a cap plate 26 having adjacent to one of its ends an a cylindrical flange 27 embracing the cylindrical shell. The lower horizontal member 6 of the front frame is adjacent to thebottom plate 8, and a suitable serpentine spring 28, composed of a strip of thin elastic metal,

is arranged between the base 1 and the member 6 to hold the number plate firmly against the clip member 9.

A suitable electric lamp is suitably supported in the cylindrical lamp house or casing portion, and for such purposes a corrugated spring ring 29 is provided and arranged in the cylindrical casing adjacent to one end thereof, the cap plate 21 is provided with an aperture 30, and a lamp holder or socket 31 is inserted throu h the aperture and into the spring ring and supports an in candescent electric lamp 32 which is supplied with current by means of a circuit wire 33 connected with a suitable battery 34 which may be a central power station, any suitable portion of the circuit wire being provided with a switch 35, the lamp having a grounding circuit 36.

n a slightly modified form of structure which is suitable for use when current from a central electrical power plant is not available, the portion of the casing that holds the number plate is provided with end walls or caps 37 and 38 similar to 'those abovedescribed excepting that they terminate ad 'acent to the cylindrical lamp casing or ouse, the latter having separate caps 39 and 40 on its ends respectively. The lamp house shell has the spring rin 29 therein preferably a similarring 29 adjacent to the opposite end; and for furnishing the required light a dry battery cell 41 is arranged in the spring ring 29 and is suitably provided on its inner end with an incandescent electrical lamp 422, and another battery cell 43 may be arranged in the other spring ring and provided with a lamp 44.

The device is-t'o be placed with the base plate 1 against the wall of a building so that the lamp house shall be uppermost, the base plate having suitable holes 45 therein to receive screws or fastening devices with the heads of the devices within the holder chamber, whereby the number holder may be secured in place. The interior of the chambers in the holder may be suitably finished for reflecting light.

In practical use the current may be switched on to supply the lamp on the ap- /proach of darkness, or at any time when desired to permit the house number to be plainly seen in-the darkness of night. The

light from the lamp is reflected by the wall of the lamp house and diffused downward into the space behind the number plate, so that all the numerals or portions of the number are uniformly illuminated by diffused light sufliciently to be plainly visible. At-

mospheric air may enter through the aperture 30 and the corrugations of the spring ring, while heated air may sin'iilarly escape from the upper portion of the lamp house. When the illuminated number is not desired the current may be switched oii.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A house number comprising a holder with individually changeable numerals to indicate relative positions of different houses, the holder including a non-variable base member to be vertically supported permanently on a house wall and a fiat. bottom plate extending horizontally from the base member, the numerals being transparent on separate plates respectively, a number plate frame bodily supported vertically upon the bottom plate at a right angle thereto and bodily supporting the changeable numeral plates in vertical parallelism relatively to said base member, two holder ends connected to said base member and loosely engaging the ends of the number plate frame and having separate portions engaging adjacent portions respectively of the front of the frame, with a holder cover connected with said base member and ends and also connected at its lowermost portion with the top of said frame, a lamp socket in the holder, and means to directly secure said base member permanently to a house.

2. In an illuminated house number, the

combination with a holder box having a front plate bearing a transparent number, the top of the box being open, of a lamp house comprising a cylindrical wall having an opening therein coinciding with the open top of the holder box, the ends of the wall havingrcaps thereon, a corrugated springring engaging the interior of said Wall, and an electrical lamp supported in said house by means of said spring-ring.

3. In an illuminated house number, the combination of a number plate holder comprising a back and ends and also a bottom and a front frame, the bottom having a lip outside the end of the front frame, a trans parent sheet on the front frame, number plate sections on the transparent sheet and extending under said lip, each section having an opening representing a figure therein, and a spring between saidback and a portion of said front frame, with a lamp ouse connected to said back and said front frame, and an electrical lamp supported in the lamp house.

4. In an illuminated house number, the combination of a base plate, a bottom plate extending angularly from one end of the base plate, a clip plate extending from the end of the bottom plateopposite to the base plate, a lamp house wall extending from the opposite end of the base plate and being curved and extending forwardly and downwardly and terminating at a point distant from the base plate, an open front frame extending from the terminal of the lamp house wall to said bottom plate and behind said clip plate, a transparent sheet on the front of said front frame, a plurality of number plate sections on said sheet and extending behind said clip plate, each of said sections having an aperture therein representing a number character, a spring seated on the base plate and engagin a portion of said front frame behind sai clip plate, a pair of end Walls having flanges embracing 0pposite ends respectively of the base plate 15 and also flanges embracing portions of said sections, the end walls having cap plates thereon having flanges embracing opposite ends respectively of the lamp house wall, I

one of the cap plates having an aperture therein, a corrugated spring-ring embraced by said lamp house wall adjacent to said apertured cap plate, a lamp socket supported in said 5 ring-ring, and a lamp supported by said soc et.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES J. MANVILLE. Witnesses:

E. T. SILVIUS, R. H. SAMPLE. 

